November is Men’s Mental Health Month, which is an important time to raise awareness and promote men’s mental well-being.
In recent years, the conversation around mental health has caught on, breaking down the stigma of the traditional male stereotype that includes ideas that men are expected to be assertive, ambitious, independent, self-reliant, in control, strong, and successful earners who have stable jobs and high-income security.
This can reduce their capacity to acknowledge and recognise their own sadness and articulate those feelings to themselves.
According to recent studies, men are less likely than women to seek help for mental health issues, contributing to an increase in undiagnosed conditions; Men’s Health Forum stated that “over 190,000 men a year in the UK (an average of 1.2% of men in work over a 12-month period) report stress, depression or anxiety that is caused or exacerbated by work.”
This can have a huge impact on work ethic, work-life balance as well as productivity, job satisfaction and overall performance of the individual!
As part of Men’s Mental Health Month, we encourage our male colleagues and clients to put their mental well-being first.
By fostering an open and meaningful workplace we can together help break down the barriers that prevent conversations about men’s mental health.
Some ways that you can improve your happiness at work:
- Take regular screen breaks – Go for a walk at lunch, make yourself a coffee/ tea, staring at a screen for 8 hours straight will cause burnout.
- Set Boundaries – Establish clear boundaries between work and personal life to maintain balance. Know how to balance your workload and how to set deadlines. Learn to say NO.
- Stay Active – Now the nights are drawing in earlier it’s harder to keep those active levels up as let’s be honest we want to go sit on that sofa or go to bed. But whether it’s a gym session or a walk on your lunch, moving is so important for our minds, bodies, and hormones!
- Socialise – talk to your team – form trust and don’t be a stranger.
- Plan your day/ week/ month – nothing worse than leaving things out and suddenly realising the deadline is tomorrow! Schedule and make sure you add those deadlines! We like to use Microsoft To Do!